Digitization of this image was partially supported with federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds made possible through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

Coolmore was built for Dr. Joseph J. W. Powell, a cotton planter and physician, first owner

Architectural note:

The Italianate style main house has a central-passage plan, divided into a vestibule, stair hall and back hall. The surviving outbuildings, also done in the Italianate style, include a smokehouse, a carriage house, servants' quarters, a gas house, and a kitchen. The Powell family papers (privately held) document thoroughly Lind's role in planning the house, orders of furnishings and other items from Baltimore, and other accounts. The house was completed on the eve of the Civil War and is regarded as one of the most completely preserved of Lind's residences. The home also features the remarkably intact work of the Baltimore decorative painter Ernst Dreyer. Dreyer's art is not actually fresco (painted in wet plaster) but paint on plaster; it is illustrated in Bishir, North Carolina Architecture.

Historical note:

Coolmore remained in the Powell family for generations, and the family maintained it in its original condition, including its Italianate style outbuildings, furnishings, decorative paintings, and landscape. Coolmore is currently a stewardship property of the non-profit organization Preservation North Carolina. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historical Landmark.